Re: CHAT: Boston miniconlangcon photos

On Sun, Nov 10, 2002 at 08:09:59PM -0500, John Cowan wrote:
> H. S. Teoh scripsit:
>
> > Perhaps :-) I've been known to mis-identify people on the street before
> > (leading me to be overly hesitant and not greeting people I do know).
>
> You may have the same brain-wiring problem that I have: if I meet someone
> that I see every day in the wrong context, the chances are excellent
> that I won't recognize them,
Yep!! I'm horrible at recognizing people when walking on the street.
Countless times, I see a stranger that appears to be someone I know; but
when I get closer, I realize it's just a passing resemblance. Other times,
I see an acquiantance on the street but don't know who they are until they
actually speak to me. (And there were a few times that I *still* didn't
recognize who they were. And on at least one occasion, I was actually
wondering why this "stranger" was talking to me...)

[snip]
> I once had to write an abject letter of apology when I received one from
> my neighbor, who wondered if I was systematically cutting him dead!
> I explained my problems, plus the fact that I'm good at recognizing
> voices, and now he makes a point of greeting me first.
[snip]

Well, you're better off than I am, then. I have trouble recognizing voices
as well, esp. those that don't stand out in any particular way to me. This
is especially bad on the phone. I've had friends/relatives call me on the
phone, and I spend 5 minutes wondering who on earth they were, all while
trying my best to give responses that won't betray the fact that I failed
to recognize them. :-P  And there has been at least one occasion where
their identity didn't dawn on me until after we hung up the phone. :-)


T

--
I think the conspiracy theorists are out to get us...

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